The "I-like-his-old-shyt-better" cliche (stop it)
- Thread starter Asicz
- Start date
Taadow
The StarchBishop™️
...and sometimes they aren't - especially when they try to keep up with what's "hot" instead of doing what
got them here in the first place.
Agree with OP. This is one of the reasons Jay-Z is regarded as one of the best rappers ever.
Jay-Z wasn't hungry on his first LP. He already had money. He kind of had nothing to prove. He was chilling on Reasonable Doubt honestly. It wasn't until his 1998-2001 "Jigga" era that he really began to flex his lyrical capability. The very exact example of this was his verse on "My Mind Right (Remix)" and "Dynasty Intro". Hov really got better as he went on. And I can't say he really ever fell off, because as horrible as MCHG was, that Tidal freestyle showed me he still has that lyrical fury in him. Same with Shiny Suit Theory.
Every rapper should get better and better with each project. There's no such thing as losing hunger. That stupid term only applies to rappers for some reason. You don't see movie directors and painters "losing hunger". Most Director's best movies were in the middle of their career, wasn't exactly their first movie.
Rappers don't lose hunger. They're just one dimensional and can't excite the fans anymore.
Jay-Z wasn't hungry on his first LP. He already had money. He kind of had nothing to prove. He was chilling on Reasonable Doubt honestly. It wasn't until his 1998-2001 "Jigga" era that he really began to flex his lyrical capability. The very exact example of this was his verse on "My Mind Right (Remix)" and "Dynasty Intro". Hov really got better as he went on. And I can't say he really ever fell off, because as horrible as MCHG was, that Tidal freestyle showed me he still has that lyrical fury in him. Same with Shiny Suit Theory.
Every rapper should get better and better with each project. There's no such thing as losing hunger. That stupid term only applies to rappers for some reason. You don't see movie directors and painters "losing hunger". Most Director's best movies were in the middle of their career, wasn't exactly their first movie.
Rappers don't lose hunger. They're just one dimensional and can't excite the fans anymore.
He was a lyrical beast in the Reasonable Doubt era. But the 1998-2000 era, he was more simple with his rhymes without losing any of his lyrical integrity. That speaks more than just being a traditional lyricist. in my opinion.
onelastdeath
Banned
The come up is always the best music man. It's just how it works. 
They're at their most hungry and are not at a point where their conforming to make hits
They're at their most hungry and are not at a point where their conforming to make hits
Most times a rapper comes out good, usually (talent wise) get better within their first 3 years as an artist, and then a stark decline happens after that. Pretty much routinely.
Okay....you explained that much better
Being a lyrical messiah is the easy part. Being a lyrical messiah while trying to keep the attention of the commercial/casual hip hop fanbase is the challenge. Many people failed at it
2Pac, Scarface, Jay-Z are notable exceptions.
I'm a firm believer that The Notorious BIG would have gotten even better had he lived. His "Victory" and "Long Kiss Goodnight" verses was a beginning of an evolution that we didn't see come to fruition
The issue with this is that rap music, and specifically rappers, fall victim to societal pressures. It's cool to rap about being broke and doing what you gotta do to survive when you starting out, but then beyond that a rapper is expected to have a lavish lifestyle, and absolutely no girl or money problems so the grown up experiences of having children, settling down, having a marriage fall apart, letting go of old ways, losing money, making bad decisions, depression, losing friends etc rarely makes its way into mainstream rap. You have to look to the underground for that mostly
Even tho I liked RTD slightly better, Biggie was a far better rapper on Life After Death
you're on to something I have been guilty of this with artists like jay and nas and ESPECIALLY lil wayne